Running on Coffee (2026) Original Acrylic Painting by Nataliya Bagatskaya

There is something quietly extraordinary about this ordinary morning. After a night of missile attacks, the city wakes up and begins again. Cafe windows may be shattered, electricity may be gone, and yet coffee is still being brewed. A generator is switched on, broken windows are covered with boards, tables are put back in place — and people continue with the rituals of everyday life.
This painting grew from observing exactly this kind of reality. I have seen cafes with windows damaged during the night opening their doors in the morning and making coffee as if this simple act were completely natural. Perhaps this is one of the most remarkable forms of resilience: not a grand gesture, but the decision to make another cup of coffee.
A young woman sits outside the cafe with a takeaway cup in her hands. Beside her, a black cat wearing a checked scarf watches quietly from a chair. Between them stands an orange generator, connected to the cafe by a cable. It is an unmistakably practical object, yet here it becomes almost symbolic — a small machine helping ordinary life continue.
The composition is built around the deep green cafe doors and warm yellow walls. Burgundy, ochre, green and orange create a rich, warm palette, while the rough boards covering the side windows quietly reveal what happened during the night. Nothing is shown dramatically. The aftermath is enough.
Through the doors, the cafe remains open. The Ukrainian word «ВІДЧИНЕНО» — “OPEN” is perhaps the emotional centre of the painting. It says more than simply that coffee is available. It says: the lights may go out, the windows may break, but we are still here.
The woman, the cat, the coffee and the generator form a small scene of stubborn normality. The painting invites the viewer to look beyond the obvious narrative of destruction and notice something more intimate: the human need to preserve familiar rituals, even when circumstances have changed completely.
This is a painting about continuing — quietly, practically, without ceremony. Cover the broken windows. Start the generator. Brew the coffee. Sit down. Live another day.
Dutch acrylic paints Amsterdam tm and Italian canvas by Unico were used. The finish is satin varnish, and the edges are painted in the background color. This painting is created on a pre-stretched canvas on a wooden frame. It is carefully packed in a cardboard box with layers of bubble wrap. The artwork is signed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Materials used:

acrylic paint

Details:

• Acrylic painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 85 x 100 x 1.8cm (unframed)
• Signed certificate of authenticity
• Style: Photorealistic
• Subject: People and portraits